Snowflakes
by WhisperTheChosen
Summary: Imagine that Kage Sekai hasn't occurred in this little "oneshot." It's still five years after the initial Inaba murder cases, but here, it's as if everything related to Kage Sekai doesn't exist. This is just a simple Christmas fiction of Souji/Yu and Naoto. Hope it turned out well; reviews are welcome. (Rated T for a small amount of language) Should I write more stuff like this?


It was a cool, late afternoon in December. The snowfall had just begun as a group of friends were walking along the banks of the Samegawa, chatting and laughing together as they went forward. Each were dressed in their own winter outfits; they all had a few layers atop their upper bodies, and maybe a warm, fleece scarf to warm their necks up.

To the side of the group were a certain silver-haired boy, and to his left walked a shorter, navy-haired young woman. She seemed reluctant to the idea of huddling closer to him for warmth as she and her friends walked along, but the male gave her several, insisting glances to her every so often. With a sigh, she gripped his arm gently, and then finally pulled herself closer. A small, affectionate, satisfied grin was visible over the boy's expression as he felt the girl do so. In reaction, the blue-haired girl quietly huddled herself even closer to him in an attempt to hide the small, pinkish tint on her face.

"So…guys," the words of a short-haired member of the group caught the two's attention. "I bet you guys know that tomorrow's Christmas, right?" He put on a cheerful grin as he walked in front of everyone and turned himself around. Now, he was walking backwards and facing everyone as they continued to walk the correct way. "Do you guys have any plans? Cause if you don't, we should get together. What's the holidays without friends, right?" he said, giving a happy wink of his eye while waiting for a reply.

"Oh, I think that sounds fun, Yosuke-kun!" a black-haired girl said, letting a bright smile of her own reach her expression. She exchanged a quick glance with him before looking at the rest of her friends. "It would be nice to spend a day off from working at the inn to relax…and I bet it would be pretty fun if we were all together. Oh…! We could tell ghost stories at night again, like we did at the ski trip a few years back." She began laughing as she recalled a memory of what happened when she and the group were still in high school. "Hahaha…! Chie, you were so scared when we began talking about those stories and everything! Oh, and when the lights shut off…! Haha! O-oh…oh, my sides…" she roared, going into a laughing fit. Eventually, everyone, including the hidden, navy-haired girl and excluding a certain bronze-brunette, began laughing with her.

"H-hey, Yukiko…!" the brunette stammered, shooting her best friend a panicked glare. She began shaking her head furiously as she heard everyone else chorus the girl's laughter. "Hey, you were equally as scared. So was Rise and Naoto!" As she spoke, Chie looked back and forth through all of her friends now, but soon became even more frustrated as she saw that they were all oblivious, and were all lost in their own little laughing fits. "Damn…"

It wasn't too long afterwards that everyone calmed down and returned to their normal states once again. A period of silence was shared between everyone, until the silver-headed boy soon broke it. "Hehe…we really should do that again. I mean, seriously…those stories were fun. Remember the story that you told, Yukiko? The one of those high school girls and-"

"HELL NO. NO, NO, NO, NO. SHUT UP, RIGHT NOW," Chie screamed, clutching the sides of her head tightly with her hands. "Enough, enough…! You guys…you guys are a buncha damn jerks, you know that?!" After shouting those next words out, Chie decided that she had enough for the day. She quickly bolted down the riverbank in the direction of her house, leaving the gang behind. They erupted in yet another laughing fit.

After another few moments, they all calmed down once again. A black-haired man with a muscular figure looked up to the sky. The sun was currently setting, and was painting the sky with radiant shades of orange, red, and golden. "Yo…I think we should start headin' back now. It's getting' kinda late now," he said, giving a nod to his friends. He took a quick glance at the female still huddled against him. "Here, I'll walk you, Naoto-chan. You go on ahead, though; I'll catch up in a second or two."

Naoto shook her head in a sudden panic, and instead of hiding her blush; she felt it spread throughout a wider range in her face. "N-no, that isn't necessary. I could take care of myself for the walk home. There's no need to-" she spoke in a fast, panicked voice, but was quickly cut off. She saw a small blur of grey in front of her face, and in a moment, she felt the warmth of a gloved hand hovering right in front of her lips. Her eyes widened a little bit in surprise, and she tilted her head upwards to see a smile.

"Shhh, Naoto-chan," the silver-haired boy whispered quietly, giving her a quick wink. As he did so, he could see that the girl's blush seemed to grow a darker tint, now shifting from a light pink to a slightly rosy shade of red. Because of this, he released a low chuckle. "You should already know that I'm gonna walk you home whether you like it or not. Now…go on ahead. I'll catch up," he said, pulling his hand away and resting it loosely on his hip.

"S-Souji-kun…" the navy-haired female stammered, still in a slightly panicked tone. She remained stationed in her place for a moment or two in a sort of daze, but soon seemed to snap out of it. Quickly, she gave a nervous nod before starting forward in what seemed to be something in between a sprint and a simple walk…but wasn't really classified much as jogging. As he saw her off, Souji let his smile grow slightly larger, and he turned to face his remaining friends.

"So…we'll meet up there tomorrow morning. Right?" he asked, as if confirming something. Everyone gave a nod, and each had bright smiles of their own. "Heh…good. Thanks, guys," Souji said with a nod of his own. After he gave the remaining people a grateful glance with his grey eyes, he turned around and went into a jog after Naoto. The rest of the gang exchanged their own looks with each other before finally turning their own separate ways for the day.

To Souji's surprise, Naoto had walked pretty far in the short time she had. He silently appeared by her side after a minute or so, causing her to release a small squeak of surprise when she looked to her right. The silver-haired young man chuckled lightheartedly as he heard her do so, giving her the same affectionate glance he had given her earlier. "You really need to calm down, you know that, Naoto-chan…?" Souji said in a low whisper, giving the girl a soft smile. He saw that the faint tint of pink had returned to her face, and he released a quiet, calm, and rather relaxed sigh. Slowly, he snaked his left arm around her back and underneath her left arm, letting his hand rest loosely on her waist. This caused Naoto to grow a little bit tense, and Souji knew that. Slowly, she looked up and to her right to meet the boy's gaze. "Seriously…you really do," he repeated in the same, low whisper he just used. He pulled Naoto closer to his side as they walked along.

Naoto gave a small nod, as she seemed to be forcing herself into a more calm state. "Perhaps…you may be right," she murmured in a somewhat low, shy tone. Hesitantly, she brought herself closer to the boy after he pulled her, resting her head on the left side of his chest and laying her own hand over the one on her waistline gently. Souji gave a quick, surprised look to the girl as she did so. She rarely does stuff like that… he thought quietly to himself. He then shook his head. Well…not that I'm complaining.

The rest of the walk was spent in a silent, snowy bliss. The two walked by each other's sides through the building snow, sharing the occasional affection glance and smile. Soon, they turned up in front of the Shirogane estate, and Souji slowly reeled his arm away and stepped to the side. "You'll be meeting us tomorrow morning, yeah?" he asked, looking at her with a light, happy gaze.

"Oh…yes," Naoto replied with a nod, looking down to the side after speaking. Souji could still see the pink tint on her face as she did so, and she knew she was trying to hide it by looking away. He gave another warm chuckle, causing Naoto to look back up for a brief moment. He took a quick step forward and landed a short yet sweet kiss on her forehead. This only made the tint grow to a much darker rosy shade again.

"I'll pick you up, then," he said as he stepped back, giving her another playful wink. After this, he turned around and began walking off in a calm manner, singing something to himself. It was too quiet for Naoto to hear, which made her a little bit suspicious. Well…it least it would've, if it weren't for the fact that she was in a completely flustered state at the moment. Once a minute or two of looking in the direction that Souji went off in slowly passed, the navy girl shook her head quickly before quickly retreating back into her home.

"I-it's been five years already…why am I not accustomed to his actions yet…?"

….

Indeed, it was Christmas day. Souji had made a brief stop by the Shirogane estate in the early morning to pick Naoto up, as he had promised. The two shared a similar, quiet walk to their destination, making small talk on the way there. Soon, they reached a tallest hill of the town, in which they could overlook the whole area. The scenery was always quite nice when you looked at the town from above.

Naoto shifted her around for a moment or two, remaining quiet. There was no one but herself, as well as Souji. "Um…where exactly is everyone, if I may ask?"

Souji simply guided her over to the gazebo laid in the center of the area, sitting her down before he did so himself. "They'll be here in a little bit," he said, letting a soft smile reach his expression. He took a moment to glance over to his friend, and it was then that he noticed that she seemed pretty confused. "Heh…don't worry, it won't be too long." His left arm raised and he rested his elbow on the table in front of him, propping his chin on the top of his hand. As he did so, he began snapping with his remaining hand, which was kept underneath the table.

The girl simply grew even more confused as she noticed him snapping. "…Souji-kun, what are you…" she started off, but stopped herself immediately as she heard other sounds behind them. "Is that…is that a guitar?"

As she asked the question, Souji slowly got up from his seat and began walking away. Naoto had a dazed expression as she looked after him, still stationed beneath the wooden gazebo. Her expression soon turned to one of surprise, though, as a familiar face appeared from behind a tree. He, indeed, held an acoustic guitar, and was playing it as he walked to Souji's right. Another familiar face soon appeared, and Naoto's jaw dropped as she saw what he was holding. There, standing in front of her, was a black-haired man holding a keyboard and its stand. He quickly set it up to Souji's left and began playing along with the guitarist.

Soon, the rest of the group made their way up the path leading to the top of the hill. They were unnoticed until Chie stopped behind Naoto and rested a hand gently on her shoulder. Slowly, she looked back, seeing her friend. "I think you'll like this, Naoto," she said, and then directed her attention to the two boys that stood ahead.

For a few moments, the only sounds were the melody that Yosuke was creating with his guitar, as well as the notes that Kanji was playing on the keyboard.. Souji continued snapping to keep the rhythm, and Naoto noticed that everyone else behind her was doing the same. Her attention drifted back to the silver-haired boy, though, as he actually began singing.

It gets a little colder  
All the leaves are gone  
And it feels like it's freezing cold  
Right down to the bone

I really wanna see you  
I wanna let you know  
On this snowy Christmas day  
baby I'm coming home

I don't need no presents;

You are all that I need

By now, everyone around Naoto was singing along in a surprisingly perfect harmony.

Snowflakes fall in the winter  
But you're the one to catch my eye  
You light up the sky when you shimmer  
Outshine the snowy white

If I could pull you out of the sky  
On this Christmas day  
In my eyes  
You're the only snowflake

It gets a little sweeter  
When I see your face  
This year we're making  
Memories that can't be erased

Waiting for you to join me  
Under the mistletoe  
It finally feels like it's Christmas  
Where you are is my home

And I don't need no presents;

You are all that I need

Cause snowflakes fall in the winter  
But you're the one to catch my eye  
You light up the sky when you shimmer  
Outshine the snowy white

If I could pull you out of the sky  
On this Christmas day  
In my eyes  
You're the only snowflake

All I want for Christmas this year  
Is to be with you, hold you close  
You are one in a million  
You're my only snowflake…

All I want for Christmas this year  
Is to be with you, hold you close  
You are one in a million  
You're my only snowflake

Cause snowflakes fall in the winter  
But you're the one to catch my eye  
You light up the sky when you shimmer  
Outshine the snowy white

If I could pull you out of the sky  
On this Christmas day  
In my eyes  
You're the only snowflake

By the end of the song, Naoto was in a complete state of shock. She hadn't even noticed the heavy bushes of rosy read that had formed over her cheeks. It was only when she saw Souji move from his place that she snapped out of this shocked state. There was a bright smile located upon his lips. He walked around the table and sat next to the Shirogane, wrapping an arm around her and embracing her in a warm hug.

"Merry Christmas, Naoto-chan," he said, giving her yet another wink. A small smile of her own crept over her lips as she shifted her gaze to all of her friends around her, then finally let it rest on Souji once again. She gave a shy nod, and returned the boy's hug in a slightly hesitant manner.

Merry Christmas, indeed…thank you, Souji-kun…

Aye, guys! :o I really do apologize for all of my mistakes and such. I'm the type of guy that uploads stuff like this without reviewing for the little errors. Can't be the only one, yeah?

But yeah. Thanks to everyone who read Snowflakes – I really appreciate it. If you wanna check out some of my other stories, you can go ahead and check out my DeviantART account at I currently got a story based off of L4D 2 out, but I guess I'll be taking a break for the meantime to work on a P4-based story of mine called Kage Sekai. Feel free to check it out, though!

(Song sang in this oneshot is called "Snowflake." It's by my favorite Youtube artist, Jason Chen. I personally think he's amazing, so check out his videos when you get the chance!)


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